Official Site of The State of New Jersey
The Delaware Bay’s shores are a critical stopover area for six species of migrating birds. The late May arrival of these birds coincides with the spawning of horseshoe crabs, producing one of the most dramatic natural phenomena anywhere in the world. Feeding on crab eggs, the birds refuel and continue their journey to Arctic breeding grounds. Unfortunately, there has been a dramatic decline in horseshoe crab numbers since 1991 and a corresponding decline in shorebird numbers.
New Jersey Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) has studies these birds and their habitats since the mid-1980s when aerial surveys were initiated. ENSP continues to coordinate with wildlife biologists in Delaware’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and other conservation partners in New Jersey. Many years of banding shorebirds with field-readable, colored leg bands has resulted in a database of re-sightings that have helped document migration routes, and nesting and wintering areas. This database is particularly important for monitoring red knots, which are State endangered and Federally threatened. The banding and resighting data is used in population modeling for red knot abundance and trends in the Delaware Bay stopover.
The ENSP invites reports of banded red knots and other shorebirds. You may report birds marked with field-readable band codes to the Bird Banding Laboratory at www.reportband.gov.
The links below lead to pages with information about these shorebirds and the work of division biologists.
More information on Delaware Bay Shorebirds:
Seasonal Restrictions on Beach Access
Delaware Bay Shorebird Banding Information
Delaware Bay Shorebird Migration Information
Delaware Bay Shorebirds Brochure (has directions to viewing areas) (pdf, 425kb)
The Status of the Red Knot in the Western Hemisphere, May 2007 – US Fish and Wildlife Service
Complete Report (pdf, 16mb)
Report Body without Appendix (6.1mb)
Report Appendix (9.9mb)
ADDITIONAL LINKS
